“How much is she sleeping, big guy?”

“Not enough,” he said without looking at me.

“Gabby, you need to start sleeping.  You won’t do us any good if you pass out when we need you most.  They aren’t moving, right?”  She nodded.  “I don’t think they’re going to.  Blake’s waiting for us.”

She sighed.  “I just don’t want anything to happen again.”

“Again?”

“Ethan...”

My heart ached.  “That wasn’t your fault.  It was Blake’s and his men.  I’ve put the blame where it belongs.  You should too.”

Her gaze flicked to Carlos.

“And Carlos is a big idiot.  He knows we need to use the buddy system now...don’t you, Carlos?” I said, turning to give him a look.

“Yes, ma’am.”

I turned back to Gabby.  “Are you more tired or hungry?”

“Tired.”

“Then, check one last time and go take a nap in the car.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” Charlene said, joining us.

“We’ll be fine,” Sam said.

Gabby looked at Clay, and a small smile tugged at his beard.  I looked at Carlos’ clean jaw in comparison.  It had a hint of shadow to it.  I liked it that way.

I caught that he was watching me study him and quickly distracted myself by watching Emmitt and Michelle pay the bill.  The boy said he’d bring out the food as soon as he had it ready.

Another gust of wind brushed over us, and I shivered despite my warm right side.

“I’ll be right back,” Carlos said.

It was hard for me to watch him rise to his feet.  He didn’t have his normal graceful moves.

“Here are the sodas,” Michelle said, distracting me from my observation.

She and Emmitt each held a tray.  I half-stood and took one of the trays from her.  We sorted through the different flavors until everyone had what they’d ordered.  When I sat back down, I twisted to look for Carlos.  He was just shutting the trunk of the car.  He had something in his hands.  I stood again and went to see if he needed help.  As I got closer, I saw he had a sweater.

He held it out to me.

“It’ll keep you warm.”

He was beat up and probably hurting all over and he’d thought of me?  Swallowing hard, I reached for what he offered.

The soft knit of a neatly folded brown sweater warmed my hands.  I shook it out and grinned.  It was huge.  I looked up at him and eyed his shoulders and chest.  I was so used to facing bigger opponents I never really realized just how big Carlos was.  I put the sweater over my head, and the bottom of it fell to just below my butt.

I held out my arms and laughed at the drooping sleeves that covered my fingertips.

“This is great,” I said.  “How does it look?”

“Perfect.”

I glanced up at him and caught a fleeting look in his eyes.  Yearning.  My heart skipped a beat in response.

“Come on,” I said.

He followed me to the tables.  Gabby and Clay were missing, and I was glad she’d decided to nap.  Jim somehow had an order of fries and was devouring it, a handful at a time.  The Elders sat together talking about the route we’d take since Gabby was napping instead of navigating.  There was nothing to do but sit and wait for the food.  And with Carlos’ sweater covering me, I didn’t mind the wait or the cooler weather.

Not only did the sweater keep me warm, it wrapped me in Carlos’ unique smell.  It wasn’t something I’d committed to memory, but I recognized it nonetheless.  It tickled my stomach and made it hard to breathe without blushing.

“Better?” he asked as we sat.

“Yes.  Thank you.”

It only took a few more minutes for the boy to carry out the first tray of food.  We ate quickly, then got back into the cars.

Fifteen

New York wasn’t what I’d expected; it was annoying.  Irritation, impatience, and indifference surrounded me.  And that was just on one of the main arteries leading into the city.  I rolled my shoulders and shifted in my seat.

“Are you all right?” Carlos asked.

“I’m getting the itch to hit someone.  So yeah, I’m good.”

“We’ll be to the apartments soon,” Winifred said from the front seat.

I looked out the window at the traffic crawling around us and doubted it.  So, I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.

It took almost an hour before the car turned off.  By then, my skin tingled with what I’d absorbed.  The indifference would have been cool if that was all I had.  But the irritation and impatience infected me, too.  It wasn’t just the energy but also the moods seeping into me.  It was like the slow PMS build up again.  What took three months to accumulate back home, only took an hour in New York.

Pushing the door open, I thrust myself from the car and looked around at the parking garage.

Bethi was just opening her door and eyed me up and down.

“Not good, huh?”

“No.”

“I thought you’d have this problem.  You and Carlos should go take a walk in an alley or something.  I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone willing to help you.”

I cracked my scabbed knuckles and glanced at Carlos, who was watching me over the roof of the car.  After almost twenty-four hours, his eye was no longer swollen shut, but the discoloration remained.

“If you come with me, no fighting.”

He nodded.

“We’ll be back in a few,” I said to everyone and no one as I strode toward the parking garage exit.  The man by the door nodded to Carlos as we left.

Outside, the cold air should have chilled me.  It was a testament to what I contained that it didn’t.  I breathed deeply of the metallic tang of exhaust and lengthened my stride until I jogged.  Very few people paid us any attention.  As the blocks melted away, the buildings took on a less polished appearance.  I ducked into the first alley I found and slowed to a walk.

My breath puffed out, and I strained to listen as I walked from one end of the alley to the other.  No one disturbed us.  Stepping out onto the street, I looked for the next alley.  It took twenty minutes to find what I wanted.  Or, rather, for what I wanted to find me.

Two men stepped out of the shadows.  Both had their hands in their pockets.  Aggression oozed from their pores.

“Cash,” the one said.

“Sure, I’ll take some,” I said with a grin.

I shifted my weight as I struck out with a kick to the man’s knee.  He surprised me by blocking with a downward thrust.  We both pulled back and eyed each other.  Meanwhile, his sidekick had moved nervously to the mouth of the alley.  That was when I realized I was alone.

Crap.  How had I lost Carlos?  I needed to move this along so I could find the big guy.

“Why do you need the cash?” I asked.

Ethan would have shaken his head, but he would have understood.  I needed to know I wasn’t kicking some down-on-his-luck dad who had starving quadruplets at home or something.

“Why do you need to know?”

His aggression hadn’t slipped to concern or desperation, so I knew there were no extenuating circumstances to prevent me from kicking his butt.

I let him have it.

*    *    *    *

Fifteen minutes later, I found Carlos leaning against one of the buildings across the street.  My knuckles were bruised and my foot sore, but it was nothing compared to what I’d done to the two men.

“Better?” he asked, eyeing me.

“Much.”  But for how long?

“Want to run back?”

I nodded.  I had a feeling I’d need to do a lot of running and hiding here.

We made it to the parking garage in less time than it took to find my marks.  Bethi and Luke were a few feet back from the guard at the door.  When they saw us, they spoke to him; and he buzzed us through.